About service applications and services (SharePoint Server 2010)

In Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010, individual services can be configured independently and third-party companies can add services to the platform. The services infrastructure gives you control over which services are deployed and how services are shared.

Services that are deployed are named service applications. A service application provides a resource that can be shared across sites throughout a farm, and can be accessed by users through a hosting Web application. Service applications are associated to Web applications by service application connections. Some services can be shared across farms.